It's a fun fun world out there

Kenny Santana ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 06/18/2009 11:44 AM  |  Headlines

With the end of Le Printemps festival approaching, the Centre Culturel Fran*ais will bring Jakartan audiences one final hoorah with an amusing contemporary circus from Cie BP Zoom.

The French-American duo, Philippe Martz (known as Mr. P) and Bernie Collins (or Mr. B) are modern-day clowns who improvise humor through banal gestures and everyday situations.

Directed by Jos Houben, their latest creation A Wonderful World opens to a delightful skit of the two actors imitating a ride in a hot air balloon across the globe. Using cardboard boxes and a balloon, Mr. B and Mr. P's movements are so cleverly choreographed that for a moment it seems the audience is genuinely being lifted into the air.

During the performance, the clowns manipulate objects around them and work with music to indicate the area of the world they are flying over. In one scene, a champagne cork punctures Mr. B's balloon, and the ensuing chaos has the audience in stitches.

The show remains charming and humorous for its full 70 minutes. Ordinary situations are approached by the duo with slapstick, comical gestures, zany dance routines and accompanied by a great selection of musical numbers.

The story behind Philippe Martz and Bernie Collins's entry into comedy dates back many years, when they met backstage after a show and discovered a similar knack for humor performed through clowns and absurdism. They formed BP Zoom in 1992 and since then have performed at Paris' Opera Bastille and traveled to prestigious events like the Festival d'Avignon and London Mime Festival.

Their personal experiences with the everyday and mundane have influenced their skits and led to the development of their characters throughout the years. In a previous interview Collins explained the source of their inspiration.

"The characters are based on our natural proclivities. The comedy comes from the different ways we see the world," he said.

BP Zoom's stage plays, normally without dialogue, have been linked in style to the great works of Buster Keaton, Jacques Tati and Monty Python.

British newspaper The Independent raved about their performance, stating the duo were "rare exponents of the true spirit of vaudeville BP Zoom's ability to provide an hour's worth of gentle hysterics makes them worth two weeks on pure oxygen at a health farm".

A silent version of Laurel & Hardy in color, Mr. B and Mr. P's blend of humor, poetry and dreams is guaranteed to provide audiences of children and adults alike with a night to laugh about. Treat yourself to the magic.

A Wonderful World

By Cie BP Zoom
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
Friday, June 19 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door or via reservation by calling 08170714404 or (021) 3808283

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